


Come in From the Cold

by misura



Category: Sunshine (2007)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Canon, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 18:17:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1097111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The aftermath of a snowball fight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come in From the Cold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ishyko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ishyko/gifts).



> these two and their somewhat antagonistic relationship were one of my favorite things about this movie, so I figured I'd write a bit of wintery fluff by way of a treat. I hope you'll like it!

"Can't let the resident genius physicist catch a cold," Mace says, which is probably the worst excuse Capa's ever heard for getting someone's clothes off, except that he really is wet and cold, and Mace may be a lot of things (most of them unpleasant) but right now, he's also wonderfully, deliciously warm.

The blanket helps, too, presumably. Still, the blanket's mostly isolation; it's not a heat source by itself, the way Mace most definitely is.

"Maybe you should think of that _before_ stuffing a couple of snowballs down my shirt next time."

Mace tsks and reaches out to rub Capa's arms. "You started it - don't complain when I finish it. Own damn fault."

"I didn't start anything," Capa protests, because he is fairly sure that the simple act of walking outside cannot possibly be construed as a request to get involved in a snowball fight.

True, he did feel Cassie might be a little bit outmatched. The consideration that he might join forces with her had possibly entered his mind - however, given the opposing forces (i.e. Mace), it had seemed the better part of prudence not to get involved.

She'd been smiling, anyway; clearly not any kind of damsel in distress, waiting for some knight in shining armor to come and rescue her. (If she had, he might be having a rather different conversation at the moment - or possibly find himself over at medical, getting another lecture from either Kaneda or Cory on the appropriate way to handle conflicts with another crew member.)

"You were thinking about it," Mace says. "I could tell."

"So you opted for a preemptive strike?" Capa intends for it to sound ironic. It doesn't really work; he's just too damn cold, and Mace being all close and warm doesn't help much, either.

Mace shrugs. "Got to think strategically. Me against Cassie, that's an even match. You and Cassie against me all by my lonesome - that's not exactly fair, is it?"

Capa shakes his head. He doesn't mind starting arguments he knows he cannot win - some things simply need saying, whether or not you're going to convince anyone else.

"Wow," Mace says. "We're actually agreeing on something?"

"I wasn't - " Capa starts, then decides to let it go. "I guess. Where's Cassie?"

"Why, you hoping to get to see her naked, too?" Mace asks, which is - well, yes, Capa does like Cassie, and in _that_ way, too, probably. He thinks.

It's not as if this is either the time or the place for things like that, though. She understands that. They're friends - close friends, even, Capa would like to think; closer than he and Mace will ever become, but nothing more than that.

"Too?" he echoes, instead of trying to explain all of this to Mace.

"I don't mind," Mace says, pulling off his shirt. It looks a lot drier than Capa's. "Although you're a bit wet and cold at the moment. Still, like I said, can't stand by and let you catch pneumonia or something."

"Very big of you." Capa dredges the blueprints of the complex up from his memories, looking for the best place for an ambush. A childish response, of course - he should act more mature.

He might ask Cassie to help him. It'll be good to have a third party nearby, anyway, to step in when things get out of control. (And given that it's Mace, it will definitely be 'when', not 'if'.)

"Just being practical," Mace says, casually stripping out of his pants and grabbing a second blanket before he sits down next to Capa. His expression is very nearly 'concerned'. "You comfortable?"

Capa wants to wrap Mace around him like a second blanket. "I - " he says. Under normal circumstances, he would say that Mace is too close, too unheeding of Capa's personal space. "Bit cold."

Mace groans. "Still? Good thing we're going someplace warm, huh?"

 _Good thing we're going someplace where you're not going to be able to throw snowballs at me,_ Capa thinks but doesn't say out loud. He's sure Mace will find other things to throw, if he really wants to - or else, he'll just stick to words. A few punches, perhaps.

"Not for another three months at least," Capa says. "If we're lucky."

"Great." Mace brushes a stray and wet lock of hair away from Capa's eyes. It feels strangely intimate.

"I think maybe we should - " They're not snowed in or anything. This isn't some sort of emergency, a worst case scenario where sharing body heat is a requirement for survival.

They're just two guys who've stumbled into Mace's quarters for towels and blankets.

"What?" Mace's face is very close.

"You don't even like me," Capa says, taking a leap of logic. Under the circumstances, he feels it's a safe enough guess, though. He wonders if it was supposed to be Cassie sitting here, all wet and cold and pathetically grateful for Mace's availability as a human blanket. (He's entirely aware that he's projecting. Cassie can be many things, but 'pathetic' isn't one of them. She's probably the toughest person on the crew, always cheerful, always level-headed and ready to help.)

"I don't need to like you in order to want to have sex with you," Mace says. "In fact, way I see it, better with someone I _don't_ like. Keeps things from getting messy, later on."

So. Capa's not here by way of a substitute for Cassie, presumably. Capa doesn't think there's anyone on the crew who doesn't like Cassie. It worries him a little, sometimes; accidents do happen, and it's not good if all of them go to pieces the moment Cassie gets hurt.

Not that he wouldn't care if Trey or Corazon or even Mace got hurt, but he's pretty sure he'd be able to put it out of his mind, to still give 100% to the task at hand.

"I don't like you either," Capa says. His body is making a solid effort to get back to its normal temperature. He's still wet, still cold, but those two sensations are slowly but steadily getting shoved to the background. He's not entirely sure if he should give in to what's replacing them.

"Was that a 'yes, please take me now'?" Mace asks.

"I can't imagine saying those exact words to you," Capa says. "Ever."

Mace might look slightly disappointed. "Right. Well, no offense, and no harm, no foul?"

It's a perfect exit strategy, served up on a silver platter. Capa knows he should take it and be glad.

"I can imagine you saying them to me, though," he says, which may be a lie, but at least it gets the intended message across.


End file.
